


Finding Purpose

by ponchard



Series: They Are All Real - Stories of Minor NPCs [6]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Ballerina Demon, Broken Circle, Canon-Typical Violence, Circle of Magi, Demons, Despair, Despair Demon, Fifth Blight, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Kinloch Hold, Mages and Templars, Magic, One Shot, Shades, Spirits, Templar Order, The Fade, This one actually does have a happy ending, Turf War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2015-04-05
Packaged: 2018-03-21 07:39:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3683727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ponchard/pseuds/ponchard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remember that guy named Drass? The one who gets enthralled by a desire demon in Broken Circle? </p>
<p>This is a story about saving that guy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding Purpose

I threw a spell at the mass of shades, slowing them to a crawl. I couldn't afford to waste time fighting them. The man's cries were already attracting too much attention. My feet barely touched the ground as I raced to the next room, blasting energy sideways at a despair demon, forcing it to spin out of range. I could hear more demons, larger ones, milling around in the hallways. I stepped through the doorway and quickly dropped a glyph behind me.

And there he was. A templar, separated from the rest. He was sitting, his sword thrown to the ground. Behind him, bulbous tumors had erupted from the wall. As soon as he saw me, he went quiet. I moved cautiously, careful not to get too close too fast.

"Yes! Tremble in fear before the might of the templars!" He stayed seated, the thin line of a smile floating on his lips. "Not much of a threat, coming from an ex-templar." This, more to himself.

"I'm here to help you."

"I'm sure you are," he said, laughing. "Lucky for you, I don't care what you do. You must hate templars, yes? Must be good to have one at your mercy." He leaned back against the wall. "Go ahead."

"That's not true."

He cocked his head.

"Not only do you care, you care enough to help me kill those demons outside. Get up."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Don't you know already? The entire Circle must have heard, and _you don't know._ " His head twitched in disbelief. The templar lowered his voice to a false baritone. "Your remarks in front of the recruits are only the latest in a series of troubling events. I will schedule some time after the current deployment to discuss _options_ elsewhere in the organization."

I folded my arms. "And? You've never been happy as a templar anyway."

"So you _did_ know-"

A sudden tingle on my neck. I held up a hand and whirled to face the door. Sure enough, there was Despair, trying to wiggle past my glyph. It looked up at me, its rows of teeth sneering in incoherent rage. "Get away from him!" it hissed. "He's mine!"

"What's that you said? You're having trouble dancing?" I casually pelted it with magic as it strained against the glyph.

"MINE!"

I heard a metallic clattering behind me. _Leave them alone for one moment..._ In a single motion, I aimed my next bolt at Despair's head, and jerked my free hand forward. I could hear the templar lurching forward as his sword skipped out of reach. With a sweeping arc, I called it to hover next to me.

I smirked at the despair demon. "Nice try. Perhaps you would be more tempting if you weren't so ugly?"

" _You take that back!_ I am a **beautiful ballerina**!" The little bastard actually sobbed. _Where did it learn that- oh. Right._ I snapped my wrist forward. This trick would leave me drained, but I didn't care. The sword flew through the air and landed home with a satisfying thump. Despair disintegrated, letting the sword fall to the floor. I wheeled around.

"What did you do that for?" I shouted. I knew why, but he needed to say it.

"You were right. I was never happy as a templar."

"So you'd throw away your one chance to stop being a templar? The Circle is in chaos, no one will notice if you disappear now."

"You _must_ know that being a templar is for life. Even if no one stops me, the lyrium follows me everywhere."

_Say it._

"I can't ever have a normal life. I can't have a wife and children and a home and a mabari and..!" He flushed, suddenly, as if he was surprised by his own words.

I crouched in front of him. "You don't know that. And you never _will_ know it if you don't fight your way out of here."

He looked away. "Forget it. I don't know what I was saying." For the first time, he stood up and walked past me. _Oh no, you don't._ I quickly called the sword to my hand. "Can I please have my sword back?" he said, wearily. But I made my voice high-pitched and squeaky. "You said you would teach me how to fight, Papa!"

The templar's eyes widened.

Slightly lower. "After he helps with my writing! Wait your turn!"

"Now, now," I said, stepping toward the templar. "Your father has been _very busy_. He'll help both of you soon enough." I handed him the sword. He turned it in his hands, thinking silently. When he looked up again, he held my gaze. "Yes..." he said, slowly, "I'll help both of you soon enough." A grin flickered over his face.

"I've started making dinner, my dear, just relax over there on your favorite chair." He picked a relatively clean patch of floor and sat down. The templar was starting to get the hang of our little game.

When the next wave of demons came, I winked at him and put on my most melodramatic human voice. "There are bandits at the door!" He made a show of grabbing his sword off an imaginary mantlepiece, and winked back at me. "So there are!"

This time, we fought them off together.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is sort of an expansion on the fake dialogue I wrote in [this comment](http://archiveofourown.org/comments/24990710). It must have been so frustrating for despair demons in Origins and II, before they were added to the demon roster. Always getting their targets scooped by other demons.
> 
> Also, the demon enthralling Drass is probably my favorite demon in the entire Dragon Age universe. "We are partners. I give him what no one else can, and through him, I experience what it is to be mortal."


End file.
